Footprints In the Sand
by Watermelonsmellinfellon
Summary: Makka wants to tell the story of her life. How her human saved her, how she saved him, and how along the way, someone helped save them. A/N: Get some tissues!


**A/N: Hello, people!**

 **I don't own Yuri! on Ice.**

 **I have no beta.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON. I FOLLOW BACK.**

-A lot of people asked me if I would do a fic from Makka's POV, so here it is! Get some tissues!

-The song is **Footprints In the Sand** by Leona Lewis. I obviously don't own it.

* * *

 _You walked with me,_

 _When I was all alone._

 _With so much unknown,_

 _Along the way._

 _Then I heard you say._

It was many years ago. I remember the day well because I had been alone. It was dark and cold, and the box I was in didn't do anything to stop the rain.

I was crying because I was cold. I was too tiny to get out of the box. I couldn't even knock it over.

Humans walked by, but none of them would help. They'd just look in my direction and then keep walking.

Then one little girl tried to get her mother to take me home, but the mom said some mean words and the girl had to be dragged away while crying.

It had warmed me a little. To know that someone had wanted me.

I was huddled on a small blanket that had been given to me, trying to find some kind of warmth, when he showed up.

"Bozhe moi!"

I remember warm hands and silver. And when I looked up, I learned of my favorite color.

Blue.

* * *

"I'm Victor," my human had told me as he rubbed my tiny body. "I'm going to take you home."

And he did. He just wrapped me in his scarf, even though I was wet, and he carried me all the way home.

Home was dark for a moment, but then it was bright with lights and colors.

Victor placed me down on the floor by what he called the 'fireplace', and set to making it warm.

"I've never had a dog before," Victor had said. "I always wanted one. I think it's best this way. You were as alone as I am."

I whined. Being alone wasn't fun.

He scratched behind my wet ear and smiled brilliantly, like the sun. All warm and happy.

"We'll just have to keep each other happy, won't we?"

I yipped. My voice was tiny then, just like me. I couldn't yet make loud noises.

Victor laughed and picked me up, placing me in his lap as he used his scarf to dry me off.

My paw was very small on his hand, but it was the only way I could thank him.

"I'm going to name you Makka. Okay?"

Makka.

I became Makka that day.

* * *

My human had to convince his coach to let him have a day off because he wanted to take me to the 'vet'. I remember how his coach had shouted 'NO!' really loudly and in retaliation, Victor took me anyway, skipping his training for me.

The 'vet' turned out to be really nice, even though some of the things that happened, weren't so nice.

Still, she was kind to me, and told Victor everything he needed to know about raising a puppy.

I was only a puppy at the time. I was actually too young to be away from my mother, the vet had told him.

And Victor pouted, leaning over to boop my nose with his.

I wasn't that sad about it though. I couldn't remember my mother. Anything before the dark box was forever lost to me. Even to this day I don't recall what lead to me being abandoned.

But Victor always insisted that 'whoever was foolish enough to cast me away, didn't deserve me and it was their loss'.

Victor wanted me, and I was no longer abandoned, so it didn't matter to me what happened before then.

"She will need proper care and dedication for the next month. Her diet will need to be monitored closely so that we can determine if she needs supplements."

The diet had been the worst part.

* * *

I learned about my human not too longer after that. He was fourteen and was an 'athlete'. It had taken a while for me to understand, but when he started bringing me to the rink - even though his coach forbade it - I got to see for myself.

He is magic. Victor had learned how to move across ice. He was beautiful and he made me want to skate too.

Dogs can't skate unfortunately.

But since I couldn't do it, I decided to support him. He was the best. I didn't care that the rink had other skaters who could do cooler tricks. In my mind, Victor was the best out of all of them.

He had to train a lot in the beginning. And he fell sometimes too. I was always right there with kisses and cuddles to cheer him up and he would call me his 'number one fan'.

Victor told me after his third Junior gold at 'Nationals' that I was his most precious person, after a reporter asked him who he cared for most.

I was all he had.

He never talked about his parents and none of his rinkmates did either.

I still don't know about them, but I know that Victor doesn't even try thinking about them, even to this day.

Though he hadn't known it at the time, he was my most precious person as well.

* * *

My human started to 'mature'. His rinkmates would tease him because his voice cracked a lot and he ended up speaking less when around people.

They said he was 'growing up' and that his 'juvenile interests' would be gone soon.

Someone even asked him when he was going to get rid of me, because he wasn't a baby anymore so he 'shouldn't need a dog'.

Victor was banned from the rink for a week when he punched the man so hard, his nose broke.

That man mysteriously disappeared when Victor returned though. No one ever talked about him since.

My only regret was not being able to pee on his gym bag before he was gone.

I at least got cuddles on the sofa with Victor and Victor had cried into my fur, telling me that he would never 'get rid of me'.

He said he wanted me to stay with him forever.

I want to stay with him forever.

* * *

Victor changed a lot as the years passed, yet one thing that never changed was us. Him and me and our little family in our not so little home.

Victor was famous and he had a lot of money by now. He wasn't struggling to get by any longer, and could afford almost anything he wanted.

I remember the day he finally deemed himself capable of 'pampering me properly'. He'd taken me to a pet store and told me to pick out everything I wanted.

Unlike the other dogs who were lead around by leashes, straining to get to this box of toys and that box of toys, I calmly walked beside my human. Victor never needed a leash with me.

He tried to show me toys and treats.

Some were interesting, but I didn't want them.

"Do you want this fancy dog bed?" Victor had suggested, holding up a yellow monstrosity that I would never approve of ever.

I had shaken my head repeatedly.

"Then what do you want, Makka?"

I jumped on him, taking him to the floor so I could reach his face properly.

'You,' I told him in the best way I could. 'I just want you.'

I didn't need anything if I had Victor, and that had remained mostly true to this day.

* * *

Not being able to speak human isn't fair.

Victor has always been bright. He's like the sun. Happy and vibrant in ways that other humans weren't. And yet I had to watch as my own personal sun started to dim.

Despite how he still took me for runs and practically brought me everywhere he could, Victor had started to lose his joy.

Many times we'd be cuddled in bed and with his arms wrapped around me, he'd tell me about how sad he was. And how he felt guilty for it because he had a house and a friend, and was winning every competition he entered. He had food and clothes and money. He 'should be happy' like everyone kept claiming he was.

But he wasn't. And he couldn't understand why. And I didn't know how to comfort him.

It's frustrating not being able to reassure your human. All you can do is let them hold you and hope that it's enough.

But it wasn't enough.

* * *

Sitting in the snow beside him as he tried to work through his feelings was… trying.

Victor had rubbed my head carefully, but he was not focused on that. His mind was far off, no doubt thinking again about how unhappy he was.

He wasn't having fun when he was skating. And this season was coming to a close. He'd begun working on his routines for next season already.

My human was so talented that he didn't need someone to choreograph for him.

But even Victor was having trouble with choreographing now, because he couldn't 'formulate his thoughts'.

Because there was no more inspiration.

"Makka, if I hadn't had the music chosen last year, I probably wouldn't have known what to do this year," he'd admitted when his face was buried in my fur.

"I don't want to fade away, Makka."

He wouldn't. He's too special.

* * *

For the first time in the past few years, I saw Victor become excited like a pup.

When the dog sitter was down the street and well enough away that they could not hear, Victor curled up on the sofa with me and started talking my ear off.

"I met someone, Makka!"

Victor met a lot of people. His job had him flying all over the world. But when Victor talked like this, is was about a more 'special someone'.

He'd said something similar once, when he was seventeen. It didn't work out very well though. Said 'someone' ended up not liking dogs and made Victor choose between them and me.

As I'm still around, it's obvious who was chosen.

I spite peed on her purse to teach her a lesson. Never come between a human and his 'forever friend' as Victor called me.

This time was literally ten years later. It had been Victor's birthday. And for the first time in the past decade, he looked happy for it.

"His name is Katsuki Yuuri. He was at the Grand Prix Final, and though he came in last, he took the banquet by storm and enchanted everyone!" Victor had gushed.

"He has these beautiful hazel eyes that take on different shades of color under different lighting. We danced! He did the leading, and he's really strong, Makka! He got drunk on champagne and just took control of the banquet. It was the first time a banquet was actually interesting!"

And on and on he went, showing me the photos of his night. He'd gotten all of his skater friends to send him the photos they had taken too.

It was fun. Victor never had photos to show me from the former competitions, so this was a nice change. And in them, he looked so happy.

It been so long since he was that happy.

And Katsuki Yuuri had done it.

"Makka, he asked me to be his coach is he won our dance off. He won! He break danced, pole dance, did ballroom, and even Flamenco! Makka, he's given me a way out."

And Victor was suddenly smiling more often.

And I had loved the sudden shift in his attitude.

* * *

When Katsuki Yuuri didn't make it to Worlds, Victor had been sad. He'd pouted into my fur all evening as we cuddled. He flicked throughthe internet, looking for Yuuri's social media accounts.

There weren't many. And they didn't have much information to give.

"It says he likes poodles! Makka, he'll love you! He's four years younger than me. He's all over the JSF's website. He looks good in blue. Well, most blue. That tie will still have to go."

I nuzzled his cheek to calm him down.

He was acting like a puppy.

But he was my puppy.

* * *

When Victor took me with him to Japan, I was so excited! I rarely got to leave St. Petersburg, but as he was going to be a coach, he wanted to take the job seriously and he got to bring me along because the inn that Katsuki Yuuri's family owned, allowed pets.

Rarely did that happen. Victor was ecstatic.

I could smell another dog when we reached our destination. It was a faint scent, but it still lingered in some of the cushions.

I sniffed around for the scent, and met a nice woman with a kind face.

"You look like our Vic-chan!" she had said as she patted my head.

I followed her through the building, where she showed me the small room all the way in the back.

"We had a poodle for nearly thirteen years. His name was Victor. Our Yuuri had begged us to get him when your owner appeared on a magazine, cuddling you."

It was a photo of Katsuki Yuuri, holding onto a puppy of his own. One that looked like me.

"Vic-chan was sick and he had to leave us a few months ago. Yuuri hasn't gotten over it yet."

I whined and bumped noses with the poodle in the photo.

'My human and I will take care of your human.'

I was patted on the head again. "You're so well behaved! It's nice to have you with us, Makkachin."

It was only a few minutes later that I got to meet Yuuri in person.

He wasn't angry that I jumped on him, and he even called me, 'Victor'. But he quickly realized that I wasn't his poodle and he frowned a little.

I booped noses with him.

'I can be your poodle too.'

A moment later, Yuuri was running off for the baths on search of Victor, and his father was offering me food.

Good food. Human food.

Japan was a lovely place.

* * *

In the coming months I had made good on my promise to poodle-Victor. I watched over Yuuri when Victor wasn't around or nearby. And he was always ready for cuddles.

Honestly, it had been the best vacation ever. I got to see Victor every day. Victor and Yuuri took me everywhere with them. I got belly rubs and good food. Yuuri is really good at grooming poodles and he always praises me for being good.

We went to the beach a lot and I got to run into the water and then run out. And Victor would laugh. He hasn't laughed like that in years.

I rolled around in the sand and ended up making more work for Yuuri to clean later, but he only smiled.

It's poodle paradise there. Yuuri is a good pet owner. Though he doesn't call me a pet either. He and Victor share the same opinion on forever friends.

They're good for each other. They make each other laugh and smile.

And my Victor is lively again.

Yuuri is great for us.

* * *

I might have made an error.

I greatly overestimated my skills in swallowing food. Though to be fair, they didn't seem that big.

And they weren't, but they were a bit dry, which made swallowing really hard.

Not being able to breathe… is scary. Really terrifying. Choking on food that had formerly been a guilty pleasure and being unable to call for help in any way was even harder.

If Yuuri's sister hadn't heard me hacking, I don't know what would have happened.

I remember bright lights and the darkness. In the darkness, all I could think of was Victor. I wanted my human.

And he came! When I woke up, he was laying next to me. His eyes were red and a box of tissues rested off to the side.

"I'm happy you're okay."

I was too. I was so happy.

It was close. I'm old. I know that poodles doesn't last for much longer than my age. I just hadn't thought about it before, but nearly dying because I was choking on food, sort of made me realize that eventually, I won't be able to stay with Victor forever.

And when that happens, what will Victor do?

My stint in the vet had revealed that he wasn't ready to let me go, and that he also wasn't ready to leave Yuuri's side.

He couldn't afford to lose either of us.

So what was to be done?

* * *

I'm proud of my humans. My Victor has come a long way thanks to Yuuri, and my Yuuri has grown because of Victor.

And the best part is that Victor said that we were going home and Yuuri was coming with us!

I have so many cuddle spots and I couldn't wait to show him all of them!

And when Yuuri's first night in St. Petersburg came, Victor and I made sure he was warm and comfortable in our big bed that could fit ten poodles.

We're good at comfort. After all, we've had fifteen years to perfect our techniques on each other.

* * *

I can proudly say that my life wasn't boring in the least. And from that first day in the rain until now, things have only ever gotten better.

Not everyone has a Victor to save them.

Yuuri and I both got lucky.

And at least I know I can trust Yuuri to take care of my human for me.

They pat my head and tell me how good I am. How much they love me.

Yuuri made me the tasty buns. And they weren't dry!

Victor got me a bag of treats to eat as much as I want.

I am being pampered nonstop.

They even took time off so we could go to the beach one more time.

Because I can't run anymore, Victor bought me this fluffy bed on wheels so he and Yuuri can push me around. It's how I've gotten on.

I'm eighteen. It's not a shock that I'm weaker now. I've lasted three years longer than most poodles like me.

I'm really lucky.

And in my final moments, with my humans sitting on either side of me, we watched the sun set over the water.

"We love you, Makka."

I managed a tiny yip. I can't bark anymore. I'm too tired to try.

But that's okay. I'm safe, and they're safe. They'll be happy and I know that they'll never forget me.

After all, Victor has a folder on his mobile with almost a thousand photos of me alone. And Yuuri made a scrapbook about me for them to look at.

So I'll never really be gone, and if they need cuddles, they can sit together and look at photos of me. The cuddles won't be as good as mine are, but they'll do.

After all, I came into Victor's life when he needed companionship the most. I'm glad that I can leave it knowing that my precious human won't be alone again.

And that's good enough for me.

 _I promise you,_

 _I'm always there._

 _When your heart is filled with sorrow,_

 _And despair._

 _I'll carry you,_

 _When you need a friend._

 _You'll find my footprints in the sand._

* * *

 **A/N: Done!**

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